In a letter to shareholders posted on the Yahoo corporate website, Bostock praises new CEO Scott Thompson and touts an ongoing strategic review by the company. But he writes that efforts to find new investors and partnerships have not been fruitful:

“The complexity and unique nature of these transactions is significant. While we continue to devote significant resources to these discussions, we are not in a position at this time to provide further detail or to provide assurance that any transaction will be achieved.”

There has been off-and-on speculation that Microsoft might buy Yahoo, or at least take a big stake in the giant search-engine company. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said in October that his company was “lucky” Yahoo turned them down after a courtship in 2008 – a hint that because Yahoo's stock price had dropped since then, it was becoming a better bargain.

Three other board members have agreed not to seek re-election, according to Bostock's letter, and two new independent directors have been appointed. Bostock added that other new directors will be named.

“It has always been a privilege for me to serve as Chairman of Yahoo!," he writes. "The employees of Yahoo! remain the heart, soul, and future of the company. And with Scott Thompson leading them, they are the reason why I believe Yahoo! will create significant shareholder value over the coming years.”

Microsoft’s Bing provides the underlying technology used on the Bing and Yahoo sites under an agreement between the two tech companies. But despite the Yahoo-Bing partnership, Microsoft and Yahoo have not been able to topple rival Google from the top of the search heap.

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